The visit Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Montreal has a big Jewish community and has their own section in the huge cemetary on Mont-Royal. I noticed that they leaves a stone whenever they visit the passed away kins but unfortunately does not know the significance of it.

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Critiques | Translate

Motrem (2392) 2003-11-16 19:02

Very satisfied to see again you! I like your photo, it is clear and the spirit which reigns is there mysterious especially since the bottom of the image is vague what adds to the silence of the history. Maybe that somebody will answer your question. You are among us to stay there, I hope.
Bien contente de vous revoir! J'aime votre photo, elle est claire et l'esprit qui y règne est mystérieux d'autant plus que le fond de l'image est flou ce qui ajoute au silence de l'histoire. Peut-être que quelqu'un répondra à votre question. Vous êtes parmi nous pour y rester, j'espère.

Abocc (3292) 2003-11-16 23:37

Welcome back Thien.
Very nice composition with an excellent focus. B&W fit very well the picture.

boof (634) 2003-11-17 2:47

I like the DOF in here. just enough or not enough depending on who you look at it. to just make out the star of david on the back tombstone. the front tombstone and the rock on top are frammed very well I thought. Thoughts to add to the picture. maybe adjust contrast a bit to pull some of the black and whites out a bit. or perhaps curves on the lum chan... Ill do a workshop on it and see what I get..

[workshop] [compare]

ninadev (5225) 2003-11-17 7:49

Nice symbolic shot with an interesting composition and good DOF. I would like to know the significance too of this rock, but I presume it just means what it looks like, a sign that there was a visitor.
If I wanted to be picky I'd say remove the little spec ot dirt above the star of David.
Glad to see you back Thien.

green (1007) 2003-11-17 7:56

Welcome back Thien.
Here is what I know about this tradition of leaving a stone on a jewish grave: Leaving a stone (usually 3 stones) come from the time and place where people would only have sand and stone to bury their dead. They would use tumulus made of stone to mark the tomb. To mark a visit to the dead with a stone signify "here is a tomb, respect this place and respect the person resting here". Also by leaving a stone even where there is a tombstone, one leaves a durable sign of one's visit, that allow the other persons that mourn on this same tomb to see their beloved is not forgotten and their sorrow is shared by other.

Anyway great photo.

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momshu (503) 2003-11-17 8:24

I'm always surprised when stone can generate soft feelings. Nice one!

Bayleaf (1329) 2003-11-17 8:55

Very well thought out and executed shot Thien. The Star of David (?) in the bottom left, and the beautifully out of focus top half of the shot work well. I like this a lot.
Well done!!

dsidwell (9745) 2003-11-17 23:06

The composition here is just so marvelous, with the focus on the foremost stones and the rest blurred. It hints at an intriguing story that looks both interesting and important.

femkevdh (2633) 2003-11-21 4:49

simply beautiful... the B&W is the right choice. DOF and framing are perfect. the photo tells the story. very well done.

zto (292) 2003-11-21 5:51

This is beautifull Thien. The DOF is just right. The positioning is also very nice. Harmony is what i come tho think of when looking at this oicture.

Luko (13896) 2003-12-13 6:31

I'm sorry I missed this one, Thien. This is an excellent shot both on the compo as well as the texture sides.

I think what balances the pic is that we can find the 3 points of a triangle between the lower left and background blurry Magen David and the lower right hand side carving. This figure "steadies" the reading ; yes, magical number 3 strikes again and returns a good shot, what do the kabbalists think about this one.

Now for the emotional part, it's true that for the western world, graveyard images specially with a Magen David figure provide instantly the deepest respect...for obvious reasons...

Fortunately, the stone adds a bit of the warmth of a human presence, even for people who didn't know the meaning, by the simple fact that someone should have put the stone here. (Which is BTW spot on the purpose of this tradition of leaving a stone on the grave..)

pascalbene (1730) 2003-12-23 16:44

So sober that death, here, disappear and beauty appear.

philip_coggan (11) 2004-01-02 1:51

A well-observed liece of documentary Thien. I see some people have offered explanations - that it's to record a visit. I saw this in the Moroccan desert, wher a grave was just a pile of stones, nothing more. Interesting to do a study of this subject. Please let's see more of your work - it really is extremely good, and I really do learn about the world from shots like this.